How to get a better tone on a brass instrument

 Having a good tone on any musical instrument is a really important aspect of one's playing. One of the main issues for many brass players is that their tone can be thin and lacking in richness. One very simple solution is to try opening the lips a little  - this allows a greater amount of lip to vibrate - imagine that you are creating a hole between your lips. It takes practice but it does work and does so across the whole range of the instrument. In the low register you will also have to drop the jaw for a richer sound. Also make sure that you are breathing in enough air as good air supply improves the tone. Play a long note and then gradually try opening the lips a little at a time until the tone improves.

 If you clamp your lips together in the high register then you will get a very tight unattractive tone - use this technique of opening the lips to improve high register tone.

I had one pupil who was having a lot of trouble with getting a good tone when tonguing and this technique also helped them to improve the sound when tonguing. 

A further point is get the best quality instrument you can afford (second hand is a good option) and the best mouthpiece - the mouthpiece is the most important part of the instrument. In general - bigger and deeper mouthpieces will help to get a better tone - shallower cups will help the upper range but the sound may be brighter/thinner. 

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